When my friend, Marina, finally put pen to paper …or voice to Google Docs, the publishing mystery was inevitable. Fortunately we were clueless. Here’s what we thought. Write a book. Send it to someone who has been waiting for such a book. HA! No way.
6 Things to Consider When Writing a Book
- Ask yourself if you are truly committed…this process is not for the faint of heart.
- Have a support system-you will need it when you are crying.
- Don’t cry (just kidding)!
- Pick a self publishing site based on your needs and stick with it. You do not want to have to do this twice.
- Make sure the self publishing site has great customer support. CreateSpace gets a high five from me!
- Don’t wait until you are pulling your hair out to call them. (I thought I had over-used the crying reference).
Once the book achieved its final draft, we set about researching publishing houses. After seeking out each company’s submission requirements, we sent many copies off to be reviewed. If we got a response it was only to be hounded by someone who wanted to “help” by charging hefty fees for such a privilege. Fortunately that was not in the budget so the answer was “No thanks.”
The Choice To Self Publish
After months of silence, the decision was made to research the concept of self publishing. Never give up, right? Again, a completely new experience. How hard could this be? Where should we start? We went to the experts! We requested input from people who had extensive experience sharing their words with others. Yes, kids. Trust me. You need to ask a kid if you want help getting a message out! We sifted through the suggested sites and decided to focus on CreateSpace.
This was not smooth sailing but at least now we had a boat! Any new experience is going to have a degree of frustration. This actually made me cry. But that’s just me. The good news is that if I get focused on things I can’t do (but want to do) it makes me want to do them even more. My “boss” (Marina) says I am like a dog with a bone. So I kept at it. Learning to navigate the site and reading suggestions and topics from the “CreateSpace” community was the key. I also was fully aware that my frustration was pretty much all because of user error so I was not really taking issue with the site.
Customer Service Is Alive!
With each step I had MANY questions and hit multiple walls. How did I push through? Here’s my secret: They have wonderful customer service! In this day and age talking to a real person is always my last resort. Why would I want to talk to someone when I can just click on a key?! Here’s why: They make it EASY. They are professional. They are knowledgeable. They help you. They are available 24/7. They are availablle…immediately. Yes, you can get them by clicking some keys (my fav) and they call you right back. Here’s how it works:
Once in their website click the skinny gray “Customer Support” box on the left. Click on the “More” button. Click “None.” Click “Call Me.” Put in your phone number. Click the “When to Call” box. Click “Now.”
Now listen…your phone is ringing!